Francis I stated that he was concerned about the situation with the blocking of the Lachin corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and called for its resolution. The pontiff said this in his traditional Sunday address in St. Peter’s Square.

“I am concerned about the situation in the Lachin corridor in the South Caucasus. I am especially concerned about the difficult humanitarian situation of the population, which may worsen even more in the winter. I ask all participants to take responsibility and commit themselves to finding peaceful solutions for the benefit of the people,” said the head of the Rimskaya catholic church.

At the beginning of the week, a group of Azerbaijanis, who introduced themselves as environmentalists, blocked the Lachin corridor, which is the only road linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan regarded this step as a provocation on the part of Baku, which is aimed at creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the unrecognized republic.

The Pope also called for overcoming the political and social crisis in Peru, as well as for prayers for peace in Ukraine.

After the closure of the Lachin crossing, which blocked the access of 120,000 residents of this region to humanitarian aid, a large group of Armenians gathered on Freedom Square in Yerevan to protest against this action of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Russia, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, expressed concern over the ongoing closure of the Lachin checkpoint Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed her hope that this crossing would be opened soon. The UN Secretary General, in turn, expressed concern about the escalation of the crisis in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and called on Baku and Yerevan to take steps to de-escalate.

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Tehran Ali Alizade discussed relations between the two countries and the most important regional issues at a meeting with the Director General of the Eurasian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Alireza Khagigyan. Earlier, against the backdrop of anti-Iranian propaganda by the media and a number of authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he was voiced a strong protest from the Islamic Republic of Iran in connection with unfriendly statements by high-ranking officials of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the country’s media.

According to the AAA agency, the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan expressed regret over the current situation and stated that he would immediately transfer the protest of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Baku. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, in response to a statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about Iran’s support for Armenia, said: “Tehran’s principled course is based on the principle of good neighborliness and expanding relations with its neighbors, and strengthening relations with each of the neighbors does not mean that these relations directed against other neighbors.

Referring to the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the protracted conflict between the two northern neighbors in the Karabakh region, the representative of the Iranian diplomatic apparatus added: “Tehran always supports the territorial integrity, peaceful and fair settlement of disputes between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in accordance with international law and condemns the seizure of the territory of Azerbaijan Republic”.